PLOT

EXPOSITION- the first part of the plot where characters, setting, and basic situation are revealed

STEP 1: ATTENTION GRABBER

Grab the audience’s attention with:

-Action-Interesting dialogue that reveals character-Conflict (a problem)-Suspense/mystery- You keep the audience wondering what will happen next

Example from Lord of the Flies

War necessitates the evacuation of a group of British schoolboys ranging in age from about 5 years old to about 12 or 13. The plane crashes on a remote uninhibited island, leaving the pilot presumed dead and the plane dragged out to sea.

Action‘He must have flown off after he dropped us. He couldn’t land here. Not in a place with wheels.’‘We was attacked!’‘He’ll be back all right.The fat boy shook his head.‘When we was coming down I looked through one of them windows. I saw the other part of the plane. There were flames coming out of it.’He looked up and down the scar.‘And this is what the cabin done.’The fair boy reached out and touched the jagged end of a trunk. For a moment he looked interested.‘What happened to it?’ he asked. ‘Where’s it got to now?’‘That storm dragged it out to sea. It wasn’t half dangerous with all the tree trunks falling. There must have been some kids still in it’ (3)

Interesting Dialogue‘They used to call me ‘Piggy.’Ralph shrieked with laughter. He jumped up.‘Piggy! Piggy!’‘Ralph-please!’Piggy clasped his hands in apprehension.‘I said I didn’t want-‘‘Piggy! Piggy!’ (6)

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Conflict The plane crashed and they are stuck on an island without adults.

Suspense/MysteryWhere are the others? How will they survive?

I Grab the Audience’s Attention With My Story

BRAINSTORM IDEAS (What if… strategy to brainstorm ideas for the attention grabber)

Write your decision for Step 1: Attention Grabber from below. The boxes are there if you want to draw and write this part.

Action Interesting dialogue that reveals character

Conflict Suspense

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STEP 1: Attention Grabber

Your Story

You Grab the Audience’s Attention With A Story You Write

BRAINSTORM IDEAS FOR AT LEAST 5 MINUTES IN YOUR NOTEBOOK (What if… strategy to brainstorm ideas for attention grabber)

Write your decision for Step 1: Attention Grabber below. The boxes are there if you want to draw and write this part.

Action Interesting dialogue that reveals character

Conflict Suspense

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Do research on a setting you want to write about. How will the setting shape the characters/events in the story?

Hotter weather sparks aggression and revolution by Ajai Raj

From

Scientific American Mind. Jan/Feb2014, Vol. 25 Issue 1, p16-17. 2p.

As the climate heats up, tempers may follow suit, according to a study published in August 2013 in Nature. Analyzing 60 quantitative studies across fields as disparate as archaeology, criminology, economics, geography, history, political science and psychology, University of California researchers found that throughout history and across the world, higher temperatures, less rainfall and more drought were consistently linked to increased violence. The correlation held true for aggression between individuals, such as domestic abuse and assault, but was even more pronounced for conflict between groups [see timeline on opposite page].

"We didn't expect for there to be nearly so many convergent findings among so many different researchers," says economist Solomon Hsiang, now at U.C. Berkeley, who led the study. "We were actually really stunned by the level of consistency in the findings that were out there and by the size of the effects we were observing." The researchers used statistical modeling to show that aggression scales with a combination of temperature, place and time -- for example, if one U.S. county is three degrees Celsius warmer for three months or one African country is 0.6 degree C warmer for a year, statistics reveal an uptick in crime, violence and revolutionary fervor.

The reasons behind the climate-violence link are complex and not fully understood, although anyone who has lived through a heat wave can attest to one simple fact: "When people are hot, it makes them cranky," says Brian Lickel, a social psychologist who is on the faculty of the Psychology of Peace and Violence program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and who was not involved in the study. "It makes people more prone to anger, it makes people more frustrated, and it makes decision making more impulsive. And that can lead to altercations that escalate to more extreme levels of aggression."

Discomfort aside, the physical temperature of the brain may also play a role, according to Glenn Geher, director of evolutionary studies at the State University of New York at New Paltz, who also was not involved in the study. "There really is something to the idea of being 'hot-headed,'" he says. "Brain temperature, which is affected by ambient temperature, does seem to be associated with aggressive mood states and aggressive behavior." The bellicosity relates to a lack of oxygen in the regions of the brain that control our impulses, as the body directs more blood to the skin's surface in an effort to cool off, Geher explains. "So you get more emotional reactions and less prefrontal, step-back, cognitive-processing kinds of actions."

As for the protests, wars and revolutions supposedly fueled by sweat, the key factor may be survival, especially in drought-ridden areas. "When there are resource constraints -- when there is lack of food, when there is lack of access to water, when there is economic destruction -- then that is a potent predictor of conflict between groups," Lickel adds. "When you're in a society under stress and there is a danger of violence, people's group identities become incredibly important, and violence begins to get organized around these group terms."

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Some critics have accused the study authors of scaremongering, playing up their dramatic results to take advantage of public concern about climate change. Yet decades of research support the link between hotter temperatures and increased violence, and this study -- one of the largest analyses ever attempted -- aligns well with an existing body of work. "I think the current study is impressive in how encompassing it is and how integrative it is," Geher says. "If the data are right, there are some scary implications that I think people need to take into account."

STEP 2: ESTABLISH THE SETTING

SETTING= the time and place the story occurs

Orient the audience to the setting and the world the protagonist will explore.

Example from Lord of the Flies

The hot island is the setting. The setting shapes the characters’ actions because the heat may have caused characters to become more aggressive.

“All round him the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heat.”

“The shore was fledged with palm trees. These stood or leaned or reclined against the light and their green feathers were a hundred feet up in the air. The ground beneath them was a bank covered with coarse grass, torn everywhere by the upheavals of fallen trees, scattered with decaying coconuts and palm saplings. Behind this was the darkness of the forest proper and the open space of the scar. Ralph stood, one hand against a grey trunk, and screwed up his eyes against the shimmering water. Out there, perhaps a mile away, the white surf flinked on a coral reef, and beyond that the open sea was dark blue. Within the irregular arc of coral the lagoon was still a mountain lake-blue of all shades and shadowy green and purple. The beach between the palm terrace and the water was a thin stick, endless apparently, for to Ralph’s left the perspectives of palm and beach and water drew to a point at infinity; and always, almost visible, was the heat” (4-5).

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Use Sensory Language in Descriptions (We Do)

Sensory language = language that makes the reader see, hear, taste, touch, or smell when he/she reads. If for a section you cannot come up with anything, skip it.

The Senses SENSORY LANGUAGE FOR YOUR TOPICSee: Use your words to help

me see the topicAT LEAST 3 EXAMPLES

Hear: Use your words to help me hear the topic

Taste: Use your words to help me taste the topic

Touch: Use your words to help me touch your topic

Smell: Use your words to help me smell your topic

Take your ideas from above and combine them to write a description of the beach. Draw next to each phrase what type of sensory language it is. For example, when you use a “smell” sensory language, draw a nose next to it.

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I orient the audience to the setting and the world the protagonist will explore in my story.

BRAINSTORM IDEAS (Travel as inspiration strategy or Images or Art to brainstorm ideas for setting)

I orient the audience to the setting and the world the protagonist will explore in my story by using sensory language (language that makes the reader see, hear, taste, touch, or smell when he/she reads) to describe the setting and by using specific details or landmarks that connect to the setting that let the reader know where my story is set…

The setting:

What are some specific details or landmarks that connect to the setting?

Make introducing the setting more interesting by using sensory language:

STEP 2: Setting

Your Story

You orient the audience to the setting and the world the protagonist will explore in your story.

BRAINSTORM IDEAS FOR 2 MINUTES IN YOUR NOTEBOOK (Travel as inspiration or Images or Art strategy to brainstorm ideas for setting)

You orient the audience to the setting and the world the protagonist will explore in your story by using sensory language (language that makes the reader see, hear, taste, touch, or smell when he/she reads) to describe the setting and by using specific details that connect to the setting that let the reader know where your story is set…

The setting: What are some specific details or landmarks that connect to the setting?

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Use sensory language to describe your setting.

The Senses SENSORY LANGUAGE FOR YOUR TOPICSee: Use your words to help

me see the topicAT LEAST 3 EXAMPLES

Hear: Use your words to help me hear the topic

Taste: Use your words to help me taste the topic

Touch: Use your words to help me touch your topic

Smell: Use your words to help me smell your topic

Take your ideas from above and combine them to write a description of your setting. Draw next to each phrase what type of sensory language it is. For example, when you use a “smell” sensory language, draw a nose next to it.

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Providing Evidence to Support Your Character Action or Emotion Lesson

If a character is uncomfortable, for example, what is evidence to support this in your story? Good writers make their writing come to life by providing evidence to support their position.

A writer writes: “I’m uncomfortable.”

Ask yourself as a writer: “What is evidence to support this?”

Rewrite “I’m uncomfortable” to have the reader see as he/she is reading that the character is uncomfortable. -What could a character be thinking when he/she is uncomfortable? -What could a character be feeling when he/she is uncomfortable? -What could a character be doing to show he/she is uncomfortable?

Below is how “I’m uncomfortable” is transformed when you include the character’s thoughts, feeling, and actions.

“The room felt really hot all of a sudden (FEELING). I was beginning to wish I had worn a lighter shirt (THINKING). This one was making me sweat (FEELING). I pulled my collar down to my collar bone (DOING). It seemed like it was trying to choke me (THINKING). ”

One piece of evidence to support that I am uncomfortable is “It seemed like it was trying to choke me.”

I do:

Originally written: “Billy the bully threw a pen at Thomas’s head.”

What could Billy be feeling as he throws the pen?

What could Billy be thinking as he throws the pen?

What could Billy do as he throws the pen? What does it look like as he throws the pen (use a simile)?

What could Billy say as he throws the pen?

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Turn these ideas into a more descriptive sentence

You DoOriginally written: “Sara typed her essay.”

What could Sara be feeling as she types her essay?

What could Sara be thinking as she types her essay?

What could Sara do as she types her essay? What does it look like as she types her essay (use a simile)?

What could Sara say as she types her essay?

Turn these ideas into a more descriptive sentence

Providing Evidence To Support Your Character Action or Emotion Review 1

Originally written: “Jimmy drank orange juice from the carton.”

What could Jimmy be feeling as he drinks the juice from the carton?

What could Jimmy be thinking as he drinks the juice from the carton?

What could Jimmy do as he drinks juice from the carton? What does it look like as he drinks juice from the carton?

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What could Jimmy say as he drinks the juice from the carton?

Turn these ideas into a more descriptive sentence

Providing Evidence to Support Your Character Action or Emotion Review 2

Originally written: “I’m tired.”

What could I be feeling when I’m tired?

What could I be thinking when I’m tired?

What could I write to make the reader see I am tired? What does it look like when I’m tired (use a simile)?

Turn these ideas into a more descriptive sentence

Providing Evidence to Support Your Character Action or Emotion Assessment

Originally written: “Clara throws the keys on the floor.”

Using what you know about providing evidence to support character action and emotion, turn the above sentence into a more descriptive sentence.

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HW Example : Use the chart below to help you further plan Steps 1-2 before you begin writing your story.

Write your idea for Step 1: Attention Grabber here.

Mark loses his tooth because it has walked out of his mouth. His mouth hurts. He says, “I shouldn’t have eaten raw garlic with my muffin this morning.” He follows the tooth to the next room.

Expand upon Step 1 What might your protagonist feel here? The protagonist might feel upset that his tooth has left him. He might feel embarrassed because his mouth tastes like garlic and muffin.What might your protagonist think here? The protagonist might be thinking that he has been living alone for too long. He doesn’t even care if his mouth reeks any more; that’s how alone he has been.What might your protagonist do here? What does it look like as he does this (use a simile)? When Mark’s tooth jumped out of his mouth and said, “see ya pal,” mark looked like a dog who has given up barking, but still wants to bark and so his mouth is slightly ajarWhat might your protagonist say here? He says, “I shouldn’t have eaten raw garlic with my muffin this morning.”

Write your idea for Step 2: Establish Setting here

The bleached clean walls of the bathroom sparkled. They looked unused, as if no one had entered the bathroom ever, even though Mark had lived in that house for six years now.

Expand upon Step 2 What might your protagonist feel here? Mark feels lonely in the bathroomWhat might your protagonist think here? Where did my tooth go?What might your protagonist do here? My protagonist looks in the mirror at the space where his tooth once was.What might your protagonist say here? Mark might say, “I think I’m going bald.”

HW: Turn your ideas for Step 1 and Step 2 of your story into your story (no more than a few paragraphs). When you write, become the character you are writing for. When you “become” the character you are writing, what the character says and does flows out of you.

“The Wall” by I. Botta MustacheIn the jungle of life there comes a time when you can’t understand why things happen to you.

When life gives you crickets, you make cricket soup. Nobody I know likes cricket soup, but you gotta make it work.

I woke up and waddled to the bathroom. The bleached clean walls sparkled. They looked unused, as if no one had entered the bathroom ever, even though I have been living in this house for six and a half years now. The shower curtains looked used though, used up like a used napkin, all crinkly and stuff.

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“My tooth! My tooth!” I could feel it ripping itself out of my mouth. I felt its baby feet tread down my mouth and onto my neck.

It jumped onto the rim of the sink and said, “Bye, bye sucker,” then vanished into the drain.“This is what happens when I eat five cloves of raw garlic and a blueberry muffin for breakfast.”This is what happens when you have been alone for years. You just don’t care what you smell

like or look like. You just don’t care anymore. I gotta start caring. I don’t want to lose any more teeth. I looked into the mirror and smiled a fake big smile to see what I looked like now without my

tooth. I couldn’t bear to look at the emptiness, at the gap. I shut my mouth and ran out the house without my keys.

HW: Use the chart below to help you further plan Steps 1-2 before you begin writing your story.

Write your idea for Step 1: Attention Grabber here.

Expand upon Step 1 What might your protagonist feel here?

What might your protagonist think here?

What might your protagonist do here? What does it look like as he does this (use a simile)?

What might your protagonist say here?

Write your idea for Step 2: Establish Setting here

Expand upon Step 2 What might your protagonist feel here?

What might your protagonist think here?

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What might your protagonist do here?

What might your protagonist say here?

HW: Turn your ideas for Step 1 and Step 2 of your story into your story (no more than a few paragraphs). When you write, become the character you are writing for. When you “become” the character you are writing, what the character says and does flows out of you.

Turn Less Important Parts of Your Story Into A Summary

Use a summary to quickly move a character across space and time during less essential parts of the story. See pages 60-61 of the Writing Realistic Fiction textbook for the example.

Anticipatory Set: What are some life lessons you have learned from books, movies, or your parents?

Step 3: HINT AT THE THEME

A theme is a life lesson you learn from life, literature, movies, television shows, or people you know.

You learn the theme of a story through

1. What people in the story say2. What people in the story think3. What people in the story do4. Symbols in the story. A symbol is a representation of something. For example, rain in a story

might symbolize or represent sadness in a story. Without a theme, a story lacks meaning and purpose. If a story has no theme, you don’t walk away with much as a reader. Moreover, if you don’t live by a theme, your life can lack meaning and purpose. For example, a theme I live by is always work hard because it always pays off. Because I live by this theme, my life has another layer of meaning and purpose.

Check for comprehension: What is a theme?

Hint at the theme in a visual way or through dialogue in the beginning of your story.

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Example from Lord of the Flies

‘He must have flown off after he dropped us. He couldn’t land here. Not in a place with wheels.’‘We was attacked!’‘He’ll be back all right.’The fat boy shook his head.‘When we was coming down I looked through one of them windows. I saw the other part of the plane. There were flames coming out of it.’He looked up and down the scar.‘And this is what the cabin done.’The fair boy reached out and touched the jagged end of a trunk. For a moment he looked interested.‘What happened to it?’ he asked. ‘Where’s it got to now?’‘That storm dragged it out to sea. It wasn’t half dangerous with all the tree trunks falling. There must have been some kids still in it’ (3)

War brought them to the island, they had a war on the island, and they are taken home on a war ship. The theme war is inevitable is hinted here.

“Then he [Ralph] leapt back on the terrace, pulled off his shirt, and stood there among the skull-like coconuts with green shadows from the palms and the forest sliding over his skin.”

Ralph is green here. Green here is a symbol of natural. Natural in this story means animalistic. When we express our animalistic or “green” selves we stand among ‘skull-like coconuts’ or we kill.

“Ralph danced out into the hot air of the beach and then returned as a fighter-plane, with wings swept back, and machine-gunned Piggy.

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“Sche-aa-ow!”He dived in the sand at Piggy’s feet and lay there laughing.“Piggy!” (6).

This, to some degree, mirrors the violent dancing before the killing of Simon. Except here, it is just a game. This hints at the theme the other is always and will be the aim of attack.

“Ralph hauled himself onto this platform, noted the coolness and the shade, shut one eye, and decided that the shadows on his body were really green” (7)

Ralph is green. He is “natural” or animalistic. This hints at the theme men are really animals.

Piggy: “We may stay here till we die” With that word the heat seemed to increase till it became a threatening weight and the lagoon attacked them with a blinding effulgence” (10).

This hints at the theme of death occurring when man’s aggressive nature is heightened. Heat is known to increase aggressive tendencies.

Step 3: Hint at Theme

BRAINSTORM THEME IDEAS FOR AT LEAST 5 MINUTES ON A SHEET OF PAPER (Listen to music to inspire ideas for theme)

The theme of my story is

How I will hint at the theme of my story in the beginning of my story? Underline one of the options to hint at the theme: What the character says hints at the theme, What the character does hints at the theme, What the character thinks hints at the theme, or A symbol hints at the theme. Then elaborate on it in the boxes.

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Why does what you wrote above hint at the theme of your story in the beginning of your story?

Step 3: Hint at ThemeYour StoryBRAINSTORM THEME IDEAS FOR AT LEAST 5 MINUTES ON A SHEET OF PAPER (Listen to music to inspire ideas for theme)

The theme of your story is

How you will hint at the theme of your story in the beginning of your story ? Circle one of the options to hint at the theme: What the character says hints at the theme, What the character does hints at the theme, What the character thinks hints at the theme, or A symbol hints at the theme Then elaborate on it in the boxes.

Why does what you wrote above hint at the theme?

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STEP 4: INTRODUCE THE PROTAGONIST AND THE PROTAGONIST’S DESIRES

(Read and complete this for homework)

PROTAGONIST=MAIN CHARACTER; WHO THE STORY IS MAINLY ABOUT

Introduce the protagonist, the protagonist’s desires, and show his/her personality.

Example from Lord of the Flies

Ralph likes being powerful and he wants to be chief which is why he mentions the idea of a chief in the first place.

“Ralph muttered the name to himself and then shouted it to Ralph, who was not interested because he was still blowing. His face was dark with the violent pleasure of making this stupendous noise, and his heart was making the stretched shirt shake”(14).

‘Shut up,’ said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. ‘Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things.’‘A chief! A chief!’ (19).

‘About being called Piggy. I said I didn’t care as long as they didn’t call me Piggy; an’ I said not to tell and then you went an’ said straight out-‘ (22).

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Stillness descended on them. Ralph, looking with more understanding at Piggy, saw that he was hurt and crushed. He hovered between the two courses of apology or further insult.‘Better Piggy than Fatty,’ he said at last, with the directness of genuine leadership, ‘and anyway, I’m sorry if you feel like that. Now go back, Piggy, and take names. That’s your job. So long’ (23).

1. What will your protagonist say to reveal he/she wants power in the beginning of your story?‘Shut up,’ said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. ‘Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things.’

‘A chief! A chief!’ (19).

2. What will your protagonist do to reveal he/she wants power in the beginning of your story?

“Ralph muttered the name to himself and then shouted it to Ralph, who was not interested because he was still blowing. His face was dark with the violent pleasure of making this stupendous noise, and his heart was making the stretched shirt shake”(14).

3. What will your protagonist do to reveal his/her personality in the beginning of your story?He gives orders.

The circle of boys broke into applause. Even the choir applauded; and the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification. He started up, then changed his mind and sat down again while the air rang. Ralph looked at him, eager to offer something.

‘The choir belongs to you, of course.’‘They could be the army-‘‘Or hunters-‘‘They could be-‘The suffusion drained away from Jack’s face. Ralph waved again for silence.‘Jack’s in charge of the choir. They can be-what do you want them to be?’‘Hunters.’

4. What will your protagonist say to reveal his/her personality in the beginning of your story?

About being called Piggy. I said I didn’t care as long as they didn’t call me Piggy; an’ I said not to tell and then you went an’ said straight out-‘

Stillness descended on them. Ralph, looking with more understanding at Piggy, saw that he was hurt and crushed. He hovered between the two courses of apology or further insult.

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‘Better Piggy than Fatty,’ he said at last, with the directness of genuine leadership, ‘and anyway, I’m sorry if you feel like that. Now go back, Piggy, and take names. That’s your job. So long’ (22-23).

I introduce my protagonist and my protagonist’s desires.

1. What will your protagonist say to reveal he/she wants X in the beginning of your story?2. What will your protagonist do to reveal he/she wants X in the beginning of your story?3. What will your protagonist do to reveal his/her personality in the beginning of your story?4. What will your protagonist say to reveal his/her personality in the beginning of your story?

BRAINSTORM IDEAS ON A SHEET OF PAPER TO ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-4 ABOVE (Doodle to inspire ideas to answer these questions)

Write your decision for Step 4: Introduce the Protagonist and the Protagonist’s Desires below.

1. What will your protagonist say to reveal he/she wants X in the beginning of your story?

2. What will your protagonist do to reveal he/she wants X in the beginning of your story?

3. What will your protagonist do to reveal his/her personality in the beginning of your story?

4. What will your protagonist say to reveal his/her personality in the beginning of your story?

Step 4: INTRODUCE PROTAGONIST AND HIS/HER DESIRESYour StoryYou introduce your protagonist and your protagonist’s desire.1. What will your protagonist say to reveal he/she wants X in the beginning of your story?2. What will your protagonist do to reveal he/she wants X in the beginning of your story?3. What will your protagonist do to reveal his/her personality in the beginning of your story?4. What will your protagonist say to reveal his/her personality in the beginning of your story?

BRAINSTORM IDEAS ON A SHEET OF PAPER TO ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-4 FROM ABOVE (Doodle to inspire ideas to answer these questions)

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Write your decision for Step 4: Introduce the Protagonist and the Protagonist’s Desires below.

1. What will your protagonist say to reveal he/she wants X in the beginning of your story?

2. What will your protagonist do to reveal he/she wants X in the beginning of your story?

3. What will your protagonist do to reveal his/her personality in the beginning of your story?

4. What will your protagonist say to reveal his/her personality in the beginning of your story?

RISING ACTION- the main part of the story that moves the plot along with complications, twists, and turns

Step 5: BEGINNING PROBLEM/INCITING INCEDENTThe beginning problem is also known as the inciting incident in the story.

Example from Lord of the Flies They need to figure out how to survive on the island together.

The beginning problem in my story is…BRAINSTORM IDEAS (Ask questions to inspire ideas for the beginning problem. Let these ideas inspire your actual idea.)

Write your decision for Step 5: Beginning Problem below. The boxes are there if you want to draw and write this part.

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STEP 5: BEGINNING PROBLEMYour StoryThe beginning problem in my story is…BRAINSTORM IDEAS ON A SEPRATE SHEET OF PAPER FOR 5 MINUTES (Ask questions to inspire ideas for the beginning problem. Let these ideas inspire your actual idea)

Write your decision for Step 5: Beginning Problem below. The boxes are there if you want to draw and write this part.

HW: Use the chart below to help you further plan Steps 3-5 before you continue writing your story.

Write your idea for Step 3:Hint at the Theme here

Expand upon Step 3 What might your protagonist feel here?

What might your protagonist think here?

What might your protagonist do here?

What might your protagonist say here?

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Write your idea for Step 4: Introduce the Protagonist and the Protagonist’s Desires here

Expand upon Step 4 What might your protagonist feel here?

What might your protagonist think here?

What might your protagonist do here?

What might your protagonist say here?

Write Your idea for Step 5: Beginning Problem hereExpand Upon Step 5 What might your protagonist feel here?

What might your protagonist think here?

What might your protagonist do here?

What might your protagonist say here?

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HW: Turn your ideas for Step 3, Step 4, and Step 5 of your story into your story (no more than two pages). When you write, become the character you are writing for. When you “become” the character you are writing, what the character says and does flows out of you.

Step 6: ORIGINAL PROBLEM TURNS INTO A BIGGER PROBLEM

How does the original problem change into a bigger problem?

More on Step 6: The protagonist is pushed into an unfamiliar situation, which creates a conflict in the story. It becomes the protagonist’s goal to solve this problem. The protagonist has to solve the problem.

Example from Lord of the Flies

There is a “beast” on the island. Pg 110

The original problem changes into a bigger problem in my story when…BRAINSTORM IDEAS FOR 5 MINUTES ON A SHEET OF PAPER (Brainstorm impossible ideas to come up with an idea)

Write your decision for Step 6: The Original Problem Turns Into A Bigger Problem below. The boxes are there if you want to draw and write this part.

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STEP 6: ORIGINAL PROBLEM TURNS INTO A BIGGER PROBLEMYour StoryThe original problem changes into a bigger problem in your story when…

BRAINSTORM IDEAS FOR 5 MINUTES ON A SHEET OF PAPER (Brainstorm impossible ideas to come up with an idea for Step 6)Write your decision for Step 6: The Original Problem Turns Into A Bigger Problem below. The boxes are there if you want to draw and write this part.

In a script for a movie or TV show, the writer would add the following steps between Steps 6 and 7PROTAGONIST TRIES TO TACKLE THE MINI GOAL SETANTAGONIST/OBSTACLE GETS IN THE PROTAGONIST’S WAYTHE PROTAGONIST SETS OUT TO ACCOMPLISH ANOTHER MINI GOAL THAT CONNECTS TO THE MAIN GOALTHE ANTAGONIST/OBSTACLE GETS IN THE PROTAGONIST’S WAY

You do not have to add these additional steps to your story. This is just for your information.

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STEP 7: THE PROTAGONIST SETS OUT TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM

Example from Lord of the Flies

They go looking for the “beast”(pg 113)

In my story, how does the protagonist set out to solve the problem?

BRAINSTORM IDEAS FOR 5 MINUTES ON A SHEET OF PAPER (Come up with as many ideas as possible for the protagonist sets out to solve the problem by using the summary of movies or TV shows strategy. Go to www.tvguide.com. Look at different summaries of shows. Find a word you like in those summaries and use that word to help you come up with ideas. Use these ideas to come up with how the protagonist sets out to solve the problem)

Write your decision for Step 7: The Protagonist Sets Out To Solve The Problem below.

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STEP 7: THE PROTAGONIST SETS OUT TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM

Your StoryIn your story, how does the protagonist set out to solve the problem?

BRAINSTORM IDEAS FOR 5 MINUTES ON A SHEET OF PAPER (Come up with as many ideas as possible for how the protagonist sets out to solve the problem by using the summary of movies or TV shows strategy. Go to www.tvguide.com. Look at different summaries of shows. Find a word you like in those summaries and use that word to help you come up with ideas. Use these ideas to come up with how the protagonist sets out to solve the problem)

Write your decision for Step 7: The Protagonist Sets Out To Solve The Problem below.

Step 8: THE ANTAGONIST/SOMETHING CREATES A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR THE PROTAGONIST. THE PROBLEM CREATED STOPS THE PROTAGONIST FROM ACHIEVING HIS/HER MAIN GOAL TEMPORARILY.

The antagonist creates a major problem for the protagonist and the problem that the antagonist creates stops the protagonist from achieving his/her main goal temporarily. The antagonist is throwing everything he/she has at the protagonist. Right now, it should seem like the protagonist has lost and the antagonist has won. It should seem like “the end” for the protagonist.

Example from Lord of the Flies The boys mistake Simon as the beast and kill him.

In my story, how does the antagonist/something create a major problem for the protagonist that temporarily stops the protagonist from achieving his/her goal?

BRAINSTORM IDEAS ON A SHEET OFPAPER FOR 5 MINUTES (You are the antagonist writing right now. Come up with as many ideas as you can for a major problem you cause that will definitely stop the protagonist from achieving his/her goal)

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Circle your decision for Step 8: THE ANTAGONIST/SOMETHING CREATES A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR THE PROTAGONIST. THE PROBLEM CREATED STOPS THE PROTAGONIST FROM ACHIEVING HIS/HER MAIN GOAL TEMPORARILY below.

STEP 8: THE ANTAGONIST/SOMETHING CREATES A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR THE PROTAGONIST. THE PROBLEM CREATED STOPS THE PROTAGONIST FROM ACHIEVING HIS/HER MAIN GOAL TEMPORARILY.

Your StoryIn your story, how does the antagonist/something create a major problem for the protagonist that temporarily stops the protagonist from achieving his/her goal?

BRAINSTORM IDEAS FOR 5 MINUTES ON A SHEET OF PAPER (You are the antagonist writing right now. Come up with as many ideas as you can for a major problem you cause that will definitely stop the protagonist from achieving his/her goal)

Write your decision for Step 8: THE ANTAGONIST/SOMETHING CREATES A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR THE PROTAGONIST. THE PROBLEM CREATED STOPS THE PROTAGONIST FROM ACHIEVING HIS/HER MAIN GOAL TEMPORARILY below.

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HW: Use the chart below to help you further plan Steps 6-8 before you continue writing your story.Write your idea for Step 6: Beginning Problem Gets worse

Expand upon Step 6 What might your protagonist feel here?

What might your protagonist think here?

What might your protagonist do here?

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What might your protagonist say here?

Write your idea for Step 7: The Protagonist Sets Out To Solve the Problem

Expand upon Step 7 What might your protagonist feel here?

What might your protagonist think here?

What might your protagonist do here?

What might your protagonist say here?

Write your idea for Step 8: THE ANTAGONIST/SOMETHING CREATES A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR THE

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PROTAGONIST. THE PROBLEM CREATED STOPS THE PROTAGONIST FROM ACHIEVING HIS/HER MAIN GOAL TEMPORARILY.Expand upon Step 8 What might your protagonist feel here?

What might your protagonist think here?

What might your protagonist do here?

What might your protagonist say here?

HW: Turn your ideas for Steps 6-8 of your story into your story. When you write, become the character you are writing for. When you “become” the character you are writing, what the character says and does flows out of you.

Step 9: THE PROTAGONIST DISCOVERS A KEY THING THAT IS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO BEAT THE ANTAGONIST/OBSTACLE

The protagonist discovers a key thing that is necessary in order to beat the antagonist/ big problem. The key thing should have a thematic value.

Example from Lord of the Flies

The key thing is Piggy’s glasses. Piggy’s glasses are stolen by Jack’s tribe. In the process of trying to retrieve the glasses, Piggy is killed by Roger. Civilization /logical reasoning or the “glasses” cannot be restored. The key thing to solve the problem of animalistic or instinctual behavior is lost. Pgs 192-209

In my story, the protagonist discovers a key thing that is necessary in order to beat the antagonist/big problem when…BRAINSTORM IDEAS ON A SHEET OF PAPER FOR 5 MINUTES (Think of as many ideas for the key thing by using the following strategy: Open up a dictionary to a random page. Based on the first word you see, start brainstorming ideas. Do this 3 more times.)

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Write your decision for Step 9: THE PROTAGONIST DISCOVERS A KEY THING THAT IS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO BEAT THE ANTAGONIST/BIG PROBLEM below.

STEP 9: THE PROTAGONIST DISCOVERS A KEY THING THAT IS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO BEAT THE ANTAGONIST/OBSTACLEYour StoryIn your story, the protagonist discovers a key thing that is necessary in order to beat the antagonist/ big problem when…BRAINSTORM IDEAS FOR 5 MINUTES ON A SHEET OF PAPER (Think of as many ideas for the key thing by using the following strategy: Open up a dictionary to a random page. Based on the first word you see, start brainstorming ideas. Do this 3 more times.)

Write your decision for Step 9: THE PROTAGONIST DISCOVERS A KEY THING THAT IS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO BEAT THE ANTAGONIST/OBSTACLE below.

HW: Use the chart below to help you further plan Step 9 before you continue writing your story.

Write your idea for Step 9: The Protagonist Discovers a Key Thing That Is Necessary In Order To Beat The Antagonist/ObstacleExpand upon Step 9 What might your protagonist feel here?

What might your protagonist think here?

What might your protagonist do here?

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What might your protagonist say here?

HW: Turn your ideas for Step 9 of your story into your story. When you write, become the character you are writing for. When you “become” the character you are writing, what the character says and does flows out of you.

CLIMAX -the most exciting or intense part of the story for the protagonist; usually a turning point

The physical climax is just that-a battle of strength, explosions, gunplay, fistfights, and car chases- in order to come to terms with the protagonist’s outer conflict.

The emotional climax involves the protagonist coming to terms with his or her inner conflict. Every word, sentence, scene, and sequence that has been written should all come to this moment in the story.

Step 10: THE PROTAGONIST FACES THE ANTAGONIST/OBSTACLE FOR ONE FINAL BATTLE/CONFRONTATION

This is the climax of the story: it is the most powerful moment in the story. The confrontation occurs and the protagonist emerges as either the winner or the loser.

Example from Lord of the Flies Ralph is attacked by the tribe (pgs 223-232)

In my story, the protagonist faces the antagonist/obstacle for one final battle/confrontation by…

BRAINSTORM IDEAS FOR 5 MINUTES ON A SHEET OF PAPER (Your choice: What if, music, images, opposite of what you want, traveling, episode synopsis, doodle, ask questions, come up with ideas as

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if you were from the future, create the impossible, become the character as you write, take the idea to the furthest possible extremes)

Write your decision for Step 10: THE PROTAGONIST FACES THE ANTAGONIST/OBSTACLE FOR ONE FINAL BATTLE/CONFRONTATION below.

Step 10: THE PROTAGONIST FACES THE ANTAGONIST/OBSTACLE FOR ONE FINAL BATTLE/CONFRONTATIONYour StoryIn your story, the protagonist faces the antagonist/obstacle for one final battle/confrontation by…

BRAINSTORM IDEAS FOR 5 MINUTES ON A SHEET OF PAPER (Your choice: What if, music, images, opposite of what you want, traveling, episode synopsis, doodle, ask questions, come up with ideas as if you were from the future, create the impossible, become the character as you write, take the idea to the furthest possible extremes)

Write your decision for Step 10: THE PROTAGONIST FACES THE ANTAGONIST/OBSTACLE FOR ONE FINAL BATTLE/CONFRONTATION below.

HW: Use the chart below to help you further plan Step 10 before you continue writing your story.

Write your idea for Step 10: THE PROTAGONIST

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FACES THE ANTAGONIST/OBSTACLE FOR ONE FINAL BATTLE/CONFRONTATIONExpand upon Step 10 What might your protagonist feel here?

What might your protagonist think here?

What might your protagonist do here?

What might your protagonist say here?

HW: Turn your ideas for Step 10 of your story into your story. When you write, become the character you are writing for. When you “become” the character you are writing, what the character says and does flows out of you.

FALLING ACTION- events that follow the climax and move the conflicts towards resolution

Step 11: UNEXPECTED TWIST

There is an unexpected twist to the story.

When we get to the end of a fictional story, we experience an element of surprise, but when we think about it, we can’t imagine the story ending any other way. So when I say surprising, I mean that there’s a twist-something new is presented-not like a superman comes out of nowhere twist, but a let me give my reader something to think about twist. And meanwhile, this twist should feel like one toward which the story was heading all along.

Example from Lord of the Flies They are rescued. Pgs 232-235

In my story, the unexpected twist to the story is…

BRAINSTORM IDEAS FOR 5 MINUTES ON A SHEET OF PAPER (Your choice: What if, music, images, opposite of what you want, traveling, episode synopsis, doodle, ask questions, come up with ideas as

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if you were from the future, create the impossible, become the character as you write, take the idea to the furthest possible extremes)

Write your decision for Step 11: UNEXPECTED TWIST below.

Step 11: UNEXPECTED TWISTYour StoryIn your story, the unexpected twist to the story is…

BRAINSTORM IDEAS FOR 5 MINUTES ON A SHEET OF PAPER (Your choice: What if, music, images, opposite of what you want, traveling, episode synopsis, doodle, ask questions, come up with ideas as if you were from the future, create the impossible, become the character as you write, take the idea to the furthest possible extremes)Write your decision for Step 11: UNEXPECTED TWIST below.

HW: Use the chart below to help you further plan Step 11 before you continue writing your story.

Write your idea for Step 11: The Unexpected Twist here

Expand upon Step 11

What might your protagonist feel here?

What might your protagonist think here?

What might your protagonist do here?

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What might your protagonist say here?

HW: Turn your ideas for Step 11 of your story into your story. When you write, become the character you are writing for. When you “become” the character you are writing, what the character says and does flows out of you.

Resolution or Denouement- loose ends of the plot are tied up, remaining questions are answered, and conflicts are resolved or are left unresolved in order to teach a lesson

Step 12: THE ENDING

The main character whether it’s you in your life or a fictional character in a book or a movie must do something at the end of the story to make it end in a way that feels satisfying. These moments can be big or small.

Satisfying endings will…

Resolve unresolved difficulties Give the reader a sense of closure by showing clearly how the problem has been resolved.

Bring home the stories meaning/theme Keep in mind what your story is really about (its theme) and make sure the ending helps to show that.If there isn’t a resolution, give details to leave the reader thinking about a central idea or theme.

Give the reader a sense of closure by showing clearly how the character or place has changed. Your character should have changed (at least in a small way) from the beginning of the story to the end.

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Example from Lord of the Flies Ralph cries. (Pgs 234-235)

Step 12: The Ending

In my story, the ending to my story is…

1. How will the story end?2. How has the protagonist changed (at least in a small way)?3. In the end, what life lesson/theme does the story teach us?4. How does the story teach us that life lesson/theme? 5. How has the major problem been resolved

BRAINSTORM IDEAS ON A SHEET OF PAPER THE ANSWERS TO NUMBERS 1-5 (Your choice: What if, music, images, opposite of what you want, traveling, episode synopsis, doodle, ask questions, come up with ideas as if you were from the future, create the impossible, become the character as you write, take the idea to the furthest possible extremes)

Write your decision for Step 12: The Ending below. 1. How will the story end? 2. How has the protagonist changed (at least in a small way)? 3. In the end, what life lesson/theme does the story teach us? 4. How does the story teach us that life lesson/theme?

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5.How has the major problem been resolved?

Step 12: The EndingYour StoryIn your story, the ending to your story is…1. How will the story end?2. How has the protagonist changed (at least in a small way)?3. In the end, what life lesson/theme does the story teach us?4. How does the story teach us that life lesson/theme? 5.How has the major problem been resolved?

BRAINSTORM IDEAS TO QUESTIONS 1-5 ON A SHEET OF PAPER FOR 5 MINUTES (Your choice: What if, music, images, opposite of what you want, traveling, episode synopsis, doodle, ask questions, come up with ideas as if you were from the future, create the impossible, become the character as you write, take the idea to the furthest possible extremes)

Write your decision for Step 12: The Ending below. 1. How will the story end? 2. How has the protagonist changed (at least in a small way)? 3. In the end, what life lesson/theme does the story teach us? 4. How does the story teach us that life lesson/theme?

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5.How has the major problem been resolved? HW: Use the chart below to help you further plan Step 12 before you continue writing your story.

Write your idea for Step 12: The Ending here

Expand upon Step 12

What might your protagonist feel here?

What might your protagonist think here?

What might your protagonist do here?

What might your protagonist say here?

Lord of the Flies Plot Chart

Write your idea for Step 1: Attention Grabber here.

War necessitates the evacuation of a group of British schoolboys ranging in age from about 5 years old to about 12 or 13. The plane crashes on a remote uninhibited island, leaving the pilot presumed dead and the plane dragged out to sea.

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Action‘He must have flown off after he dropped us. He couldn’t land here. Not in a place with wheels.’‘We was attacked!’‘He’ll be back all right.’The fat boy shook his head.‘When we was coming down I looked through one of them windows. I saw the other part of the plane. There were flames coming out of it.’He looked up and down the scar.‘And this is what the cabin done.’The fair boy reached out and touched the jagged end of a trunk. For a moment he looked interested.‘What happened to it?’ he asked. ‘Where’s it got to now?’‘That storm dragged it out to sea. It wasn’t half dangerous with all the tree trunks falling. There must have been some kids still in it’ (3)

Plane crash=action

Interesting Dialogue‘They used to call me ‘Piggy.’Ralph shrieked with laughter. He jumped up.‘Piggy! Piggy!’‘Ralph-please!’Piggy clasped his hands in apprehension.‘I said I didn’t want-‘‘Piggy! Piggy!’ (6)

ConflictThe plane crashed and they are stuck on an island without adults.

Suspense/MysteryWhere are the others? How will they survive?

Expand upon Step 1

What might your protagonist feel here?‘Are there any grownups at all?’‘I don’t think so.’The fair boy said this solemnly; but then the delight of a realized ambition overcame him. In the middle of the scar he stood on his head and grinned at the reversed fat boy.‘No grownups!’

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What might your protagonist think here?‘Are there any grownups at all?’‘I don’t think so.’The fair boy said this solemnly; but then the delight of a realized ambition overcame him. In the middle of the scar he stood on his head and grinned at the reversed fat boy.‘No grownups!’

What might your protagonist do here? What does it look like as he does this (use a simile)?‘Are there any grownups at all?’‘I don’t think so.’The fair boy said this solemnly; but then the delight of a realized ambition overcame him. In the middle of the scar he stood on his head and grinned at the reversed fat boy.‘No grownups!’

What might your protagonist say here?‘Are there any grownups at all?’‘I don’t think so.’The fair boy said this solemnly; but then the delight of a realized ambition overcame him. In the middle of the scar he stood on his head and grinned at the reversed fat boy.‘No grownups!’

Write your idea for Step 2: Establish Setting here

The island is the setting

“All round him the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heat.”

“The shore was fledged with palm trees. These stood or leaned or reclined against the light and their green feathers were a hundred feet up in the air. The ground beneath them was a bank covered with coarse grass, torn everywhere by the upheavals of fallen trees, scattered with decaying coconuts and palm saplings. Behind this was the darkness of the forest proper and the open space of the scar. Ralph stood, one hand against a grey trunk, and screwed up his eyes against the shimmering water. Out there, perhaps a mile away, the white surf flinked on a coral reef, and beyond that the open sea was dark blue. Within the irregular arc of coral the lagoon was still a mountain lake-blue of all shades and shadowy green and purple. The beach between the palm terrace and the water was a thin stick, endless apparently, for to Ralph’s left the perspectives of palm and beach and water drew to a point at infinity; and always, almost visible, was the heat” (4-5).

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Expand upon Step 2

What might your protagonist feel here?

What might your protagonist think here?

What might your protagonist do here?“The boy with the fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way toward the lagoon. Though he had taken off his school sweater and trailed it now from one hand, his grey shirt stuck to him and his hair was plastered to his forehead.”

What might your protagonist say here?

Write your idea for Step 3:Hint at the Theme here

‘He must have flown off after he dropped us. He couldn’t land here. Not in a place with wheels.’‘We was attacked!’‘He’ll be back all right.’The fat boy shook his head.‘When we was coming down I looked through one of them windows. I saw the other part of the plane. There were flames coming out of it.’He looked up and down the scar.‘And this is what the cabin done.’The fair boy reached out and touched the jagged end of a trunk. For a moment he looked interested.‘What happened to it?’ he asked. ‘Where’s it got to now?’‘That storm dragged it out to sea. It wasn’t half dangerous with all the tree trunks falling. There must have been some kids still in it’ (3)

War brought them to the island, they had a war on the island, and they are taken home on a war ship. The theme war is inevitable is hinted here.

“Then he [Ralph] leapt back on the terrace, pulled off his shirt, and stood there among the skull-like coconuts with green shadows from the palms and the forest sliding over his skin.”Ralph is green here. Green here is a symbol of natural. Natural in this story means animalistic. When we express our animalistic or “green”

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selves we stand among ‘skull-like coconuts’ or we kill.

“Ralph danced out into the hot air of the beach and then returned as a fighter-plane, with wings swept back, and machine-gunned Piggy.“Sche-aa-ow!”He dived in the sand at Piggy’s feet and lay there laughing.“Piggy!” (6).

This, to some degree, mirrors the violent dancing before the killing of Simon. Except here, it is just a game. This hints at the theme the other is always and will be the aim of attack.

“Ralph hauled himself onto this platform, noted the coolness and the shade, shut one eye, and decided that the shadows on his body were really green” (7)

Ralph is green. He is “natural” or animalistic. This hints at the theme men are really animals.

Piggy: “We may stay here till we die”With that word the heat seemed to increase till it became a threatening weight and the lagoon attacked them with a blinding effulgence” (10).

This hints at the theme of death occurring when man’s aggressive nature is heightened. Heat is known to increase aggressive tendencies.

Expand upon Step 3

What might your protagonist feel here?“Ralph danced out into the hot air of the beach and then returned as a fighter-plane, with wings swept back, and machine-gunned Piggy.“Sche-aa-ow!”He dived in the sand at Piggy’s feet and lay there laughing.“Piggy!” (6).

What might your protagonist think here?

What might your protagonist do here?“Ralph danced out into the hot air of the beach and then returned as a fighter-plane, with wings swept back, and machine-gunned Piggy.“Sche-aa-ow!”He dived in the sand at Piggy’s feet and lay there laughing.“Piggy!” (6).

What might your protagonist say here?“Ralph danced out into the hot air of the beach and then returned as a fighter-

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plane, with wings swept back, and machine-gunned Piggy.“Sche-aa-ow!”He dived in the sand at Piggy’s feet and lay there laughing.“Piggy!” (6).

Write your idea for Step 4: Introduce the Protagonist and the Protagonist’s Desires here

Ralph likes being powerful and he wants to be chief which is why he mentions the idea of a chief in the first place.

“Ralph muttered the name to himself and then shouted it to Ralph, who was not interested because he was still blowing. His face was dark with the violent pleasure of making this stupendous noise, and his heart was making the stretched shirt shake”(14).Blowing the conch makes Ralph feel powerful.

‘Shut up,’ said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. ‘Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things.’‘A chief! A chief!’ (19).Ralph likes being powerful and he wants to be chief which is why he mentions the idea of a chief in the first place.

‘About being called Piggy. I said I didn’t care as long as they didn’t call me Piggy; an’ I said not to tell and then you went an’ said straight out-‘Stillness descended on them. Ralph, looking with more understanding at Piggy, saw that he was hurt and crushed. He hovered between the two courses of apology or further insult.‘Better Piggy than Fatty,’ he said at last, with the directness of genuine leadership, ‘and anyway, I’m sorry if you feel like that. Now go back, Piggy, and take names. That’s your job. So long’ (23).Here Ralph names Piggy, Piggy to the others. So Ralph gives Piggy his identity, so Ralph has power over Piggy. He then tells Piggy what to do: another revelation of Ralph’s desire to have power.

The circle of boys broke into applause. Even the choir applauded; and the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification. He started up, then changed his mind and sat down again while the air rang. Ralph looked at him, eager to offer something.

‘The choir belongs to you, of course.’‘They could be the army-‘‘Or hunters-‘‘They could be-‘

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The suffusion drained away from Jack’s face. Ralph waved again for silence.‘Jack’s in charge of the choir. They can be-what do you want them to be?’‘Hunters.’

Ralph is generous and diplomatic. He wants to give Jack something because he notices he is upset that he did not become leader. He doesn’t want problems to occur between the two of them, so he offers the defeated party something.

Expand upon Step 4

What might your protagonist feel here?“Ralph muttered the name to himself and then shouted it to Ralph, who was not interested because he was still blowing. His face was dark with the violent pleasure of making this stupendous noise, and his heart was making the stretched shirt shake”(14).

What might your protagonist think here?Stillness descended on them. Ralph, looking with more understanding at Piggy, saw that he was hurt and crushed. He hovered between the two courses of apology or further insult.‘Better Piggy than Fatty,’ he said at last, with the directness of genuine leadership, ‘and anyway, I’m sorry if you feel like that. Now go back, Piggy, and take names. That’s your job. So long’ (23).

What might your protagonist do here?“Ralph muttered the name to himself and then shouted it to Ralph, who was not interested because he was still blowing. His face was dark with the violent pleasure of making this stupendous noise, and his heart was making the stretched shirt shake”(14).

What might your protagonist say here?‘Shut up,’ said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. ‘Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things.’‘A chief! A chief!’

Write Your idea for Step 5: Beginning Problem here

They need to figure out how to survive on the island together.

Expand Upon Step 5

What might your protagonist feel here?

What might your protagonist think here?

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What might your protagonist do here?

What might your protagonist say here?

Write your idea for Step 6: Beginning Problem Gets worse

There is a “beast” on the island. Pg 110

‘Ralph, wake up!’The leaves were roaring like the sea.‘Ralph, wake up!’‘What’s the matter?’‘We saw-‘‘-the beast-‘‘__plain!’‘Who are you? The twins?’‘We saw the beast-‘ (110)

Expand upon Step 6 What might your protagonist feel here?

What might your protagonist think here?

What might your protagonist do here?

What might your protagonist say here?

Write your idea for Step 7: The Protagonist Sets Out To Solve the Problem

They go looking for the “beast”(pg 113)

…Jack called them back to the center.‘This’ll be a real hunt! Who’ll come?’Ralph moved impatiently.‘These spears are made of wood. Don’t be silly.’Jack sneered at him.‘Frightened?’‘Course I’m frightened. Who wouldn’t be?’He turned to the twins, yearning but hopeless.

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‘I suppose you aren’t pulling our legs?’The reply was too emphatic for anyone to doubt them.Piggy took the conch.‘Couldn’t we-kind of-stay here? Maybe the beast won’t come near us.’But for the sense of something watching them, Ralph would have shouted at him.‘Stay here? And be cramped into this bit of the island, always on the lookout? How should we get our food? And what about the fire?’‘Let’s be moving,’ said Jack relentlessly, we’re wasting time.’

Expand upon Step 7 What might your protagonist feel here?‘’Course I’m frightened. Who wouldn’t be?’

What might your protagonist think here?But for the sense of something watching them, Ralph would have shouted at him.

What might your protagonist do here?…Jack called them back to the center.‘This’ll be a real hunt! Who’ll come?’Ralph moved impatiently.‘These spears are made of wood. Don’t be silly.’

What might your protagonist say here?‘Stay here? And be cramped into this bit of the island, always on the lookout? How should we get our food? And what about the fire?’

Write your idea for Step 8: THE ANTAGONIST/SOMETHING CREATES A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR THE PROTAGONIST. THE PROBLEM CREATED STOPS THE PROTAGONIST FROM ACHIEVING HIS/HER MAIN GOAL TEMPORARILY.

The boys mistake Simon as the beast and kill him.

Leading up to the killing……

Simon shook.‘There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast.’Simon’s mouth labored, brought forth audible words.‘Pig’s head on a stick’

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‘Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill!’ said the head. For a moment or two the forest and all the other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter. ‘You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s a no go? Why things are the way they are?’…

‘I’m warning you. I’m going to get angry. D’ you see? You’re not wanted. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island! So don’t try it on, my poor misguided boy, or else-‘

Simon found he was looking into a vast mouth. There was blackness within, a blackness that spread.

‘-Or else,’ said the Lord of the Flies, ‘we shall do you? See? Jack and Roger and Maurice and Robert and Bill and Piggy and Ralph. Do you. See?’

Simon was inside the mouth. He fell down and lost consciousness. (164-65)

The flies had found the figure too. The life-like movement would scare them off for a moment so that they mad a dark cloud round the head. Then as the blue material of the parachute collapsed the corpulent figure would bow forward, sighing, and the flies settled once more.

Simon felt his knees smack the rock. He crawled forward and soon he understood. The tangle of lines showed him the mechanics of this parody; he examined the white nasal bones, the teeth, the colors of corruption. He saw how pitilessly the layers of rubber and canvas held together the poor body that should be rotting away. Then the wind blew again and the figure lifted, bowed, and breathed foully at him. Simon knelt on all fours and was sick till his stomach was empty. Then he took the lines in his hands; he freed them from the rocks and the figure from the wind’s indignity.

…

As Simon thought this, he turned to the poor broken thing that sat sinking by his side. The beast was harmless and horrible; and

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the news must reach the others as soon as possible. He started down the mountain and his legs gave beneath him. Even with great care the best he could do was a stagger.(168)

The killing…

Jack leapt on to the sand.

‘Do our dance! Come on! Dance!’

…

Roger became the pig, grunting and charging at Jack, who side-stepped. The hunters took their spears, the cooks took spit, and the rest clubs of firewood. A circling movement developed and chant. While Roger mimed the terror of the pig, the littluns ran and jumped on the outside of the circle. Piggy and Ralph, under the threat of the sky, found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society. They were glad to touch the brown backs of the fence that hemmed in the terror and made it governable.

‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!’ (174).

…

‘Him! Him!’

The circle became a horseshoe. A thing was crawling out of the forest. It came darkly, uncertainly. The shrill screaming that rose before the beast was like a pain. The beast stumbled into the horseshoe.

‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!’

The blue-white scar was constant, the noise unendurable. Simon was crying out something about dead man on a hill.

‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in!’

The sticks fell and the mouth of the new circle crunched and screamed. The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms

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folded over its face. It was crying out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill. The beast struggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws. (175)

Expand upon Step 8 What might your protagonist feel here?Piggy and Ralph, under the threat of the sky, found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society. They were glad to touch the brown backs of the fence that hemmed in the terror and made it governable.

What might your protagonist think here?

What might your protagonist do here?

What might your protagonist say here?

In a script for a movie or TV show, the writer would add the following steps between Steps 6 and 7PROTAGONIST TRIES TO TACKLE THE MINI GOAL SETANTAGONIST/OBSTACLE GETS IN THE PROTAGONIST’S WAYTHE PROTAGONIST SETS OUT TO ACCOMPLISH ANOTHER MINI GOAL THAT CONNECTS TO THE MAIN GOALTHE ANTAGONIST/OBSTACLE GETS IN THE PROTAGONIST’S WAY

Write your idea for Step 9: The Protagonist Discovers a Key Thing That Is Necessary In Order To Beat The Antagonist/Obstacle

The key thing is Piggy’s glasses. Piggy’s glasses are stolen by Jack’s tribe. In the process of trying to retrieve the glasses, Piggy is killed by Roger. Civilization or the “glasses” cannot be restored. The key thing to solve the problem of animalistic behavior is lost.

Pgs 192-209

Jack’s tribe come to steal the glasses and they are physically fighting with each other. Then…

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‘You all right, Piggy?’‘I thought they wanted the conch.’Ralph trotted down the pale beach and jumped on to the platform. The conch still glimmered by the chief’s seat. He gazed for a moment or two, then went back to Piggy.

‘They didn’t take the conch.’

…

The chief led then, trotting steadily, exulting in his achievement. He was a chief now in truth; and he made stabbing motions with his spear. From his left hand dangled Piggy’s broken glasses.

…

‘You go away, Ralph. You keep to your end. This is my end and my tribe. You leave me alone.’

The jeering died away.

‘You pinched Piggy’s specs,’ said Ralph, breathlessly. ‘You’ve got to give them back.’

‘Got to? Who says?’

…

‘Listen. We’ve come to say this. First you’ve got to give back Piggy’s specs. If he hasn’t got them he can’t see. You aren’t playing the game-‘

‘Your only hope is keeping a signal fire going as long as there’s light to see. Then maybe a ship’ ll notice the smoke and come and rescue us and take us home. But without that smoke we’ve got to wait till some ship comes by accident. We might wait years; till we were old-

The shivering, silvery, unreal laughter of the savages sprayed out and echoed away.

High overhead, Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever.

Ralph heard the great rock before he saw it.…

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The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. Piggy, saying nothing, with no time for even a grunt, traveled through the air sideways from the rock, turning over as he went. The rock bounded twice and was lost in the forest. Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back across the square red rock in the sea. His head opened and stuff came out and turned red.

…

“See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone-‘

He ran forward, stooping.

‘I’m chief!’

Viciously, with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph (209).Expand upon Step 9 What might your protagonist feel here?

What might your protagonist think here?Then the sea breathed again in a long, slow sigh, the water boiled white and pink over the rock; and when it went, sucking back again, the body of Piggy was gone.This time the silence was complete. Ralph’s lips formed a word but no sound came out.

What might your protagonist do here?‘I’m chief!’Viciously, with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph…Ralph turned and ran. A great noise as of sea gulls rose behind him. He obeyed an instinct that he did not know he possessed and swerved over the open space so that the spears went wide. He saw the headless body of the sow and jumped in time. Then he was crashing through foliage and small boughs and was hidden by the forest.

What might your protagonist say here?‘You pinched Piggy’s specs,’ said Ralph, breathlessly. ‘You’ve got to give them back.’

Write your idea for Step Ralph is attacked by the tribe (pgs 223-232)

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10: THE PROTAGONIST FACES THE ANTAGONIST/OBSTACLE FOR ONE FINAL BATTLE/CONFRONTATION

Five yards away the savage stopped, standing right by the thicket, and cried out. Ralph drew his feet and crouched. The stake was in his hands, the stake sharpened at both ends, the stake that vibrated so wildly, that grew long, short light, heavy, light again.

The ululation spread from shore to shore. The savage knelt down by the edge of the thicket, and there were lights flickering in the forest behind him. You could see a knee disturb the mold. Now the other. Two hands. A spear.

A face.

The savage peered into the obscurity beneath the thicket. You could tell that he saw light on this side and on that, but not in the middle-there. In the middle was a blob of dark and the savage wrinkled up his face, trying to decipher the darkness.

The seconds lengthened. Ralph was looking straight into the savage’s eyes.

Don’t scream.

You’ll get back.Now he’s seen you. He’s making sure. A stick sharpened.

Ralph screamed, a scream of fright and anger and desperation. His legs straightened, the screams became continuous and foaming. He shot forward, burst the thicket, was in the open, screaming, snarling, bloody. He swung the stake and the savage tumbled over; but there were others coming toward him, crying out. He swerved as a spear flew past and then was silent, running. All at once the lights flickering ahead of him merged together, the roar of the forest rose to thunder and a tall bush directly in his path burst into a great fan-shaped flame. He swung to the right, running desperately fast, with the heat beating on his left side and the fire racing forward like a tide. The ululation rose behind him and spread long, a series of short sharp cries, the sighting call.

A brown figure showed up at his right and fell away. They were all running, all crying out madly. He could hear them crashing in the undergrowth and on the left was the hot, bright thunder of the fire. He forgot his wounds, his hunger and thirst, and became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet, rushing though the forest toward the

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open beach. Spots jumped before his eyes and turned into red circles that expanded quickly till they passed out of sight. Below him someone’s legs were getting tired and the desperate ululation advanced like a jagged fringe of menace and was almost overhead.

He stumbled over a root and the cry that pursued him rose even higher. He saw a shelter burst into flames and the fire flapped at his right shoulder and there was a glitter of water. Then he was down, rolling over and over in the warm sand, crouching with arm to ward off, trying to cry for mercy.

He staggered to his feet, tensed for more terrors, and looked up at a huge peaked cap. It was a white-topped cap, and above the green shade of the peak was a crown, an anchor, gold foliage. He saw while drill, epaulettes, a revolver, a row of gilt buttons down the front of a uniform.

Expand upon Step 10 What might your protagonist feel here?The seconds lengthened. Ralph was looking straight into the savage’s eyes.

Don’t scream.

What might your protagonist think here?The seconds lengthened. Ralph was looking straight into the savage’s eyes.

Don’t scream.

What might your protagonist do here?Then he was down, rolling over and over in the warm sand, crouching with arm to ward off, trying to cry for mercy.

What might your protagonist say here?Ralph screamed, a scream of fright and anger and desperation. His legs straightened, the screams became continuous and foaming. He shot forward, burst the thicket, was in the open, screaming, snarling, bloody.

Write your idea for Step 11: The Unexpected

They are rescued. Pgs 232-235

He staggered to his feet, tensed for more terrors, and looked up at a huge

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Twist here peaked cap. It was a white-topped cap, and above the green shade of the peak was a crown, an anchor, gold foliage. He saw while drill, epaulettes, a revolver, a row of gilt buttons down the front of a uniform.

A naval officer stood on the sand, looking down at Ralph in wary astonishment. On the beach behind him was a cutter, her bows hauled up and held by two ratings. In the stern-sheets another rating held a sub-machine gun.

The ululation faltered and died away.

The officer looked at Ralph doubtfully for a moment, then took his hand away from the butt of the revolver.

‘Hullo.’

Squirming a little, conscious of his filthy appearance, Ralph answered shyly.

‘Hullo.’

The officer nodded, as if a question had been answered.

‘Are there any adults-any grownups with you?’

Dumbly, Ralph shook his head. He turned a half-pace on the sand. A semicircle of little boys, their bodies streaked with colored clay, sharp sticks in their hands, were standing on the beach making no noise at all.

‘Fun and games,’ said the officer.

The fire reached the coconut palms by the beach and swallowed them noisy. A flame, seemingly detached, swung like an acrobat and licked up the palm heads on the platform. The sky was black.

The officer grinned cheerfully at Ralph.

‘We saw your smoke. What have you been doing? Having a war or something?’

Ralph nodded.

The officer inspected the little scarecrow in front of him. The kid needed a bath, a haircut, a nose-wipe and a good deal of ointment.

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‘Nobody killed, I hope? Any dead bodies?’‘Only two. And they’ve gone.’The officer leaned down and looked closely at Ralph.‘Two? Killed?’Ralph nodded again. Behind him the whole island was shuddering with flame. The officer knew, as a rule, when people were telling the truth. He whistled softly.

Other boys were appearing now, tiny tots some of them, brown, with the distended bellies of small savages. One of them came close to the officer and looked up.

‘I’m, I’m-‘

But there was no more to come. Percival Wemys Madison sought in his head for an incantation that had faded clean away.

The officer turned back to Ralph.

‘We’ll take you off. How many of you are there?’Ralph shook his head. The officer looked past him to the group of painted boys.‘Who’s boss here?’‘I am,’ said Ralph loudly.A little boy who wore the remains of an extraordinary black cap on his red hair and who carried the remains of a pair of spectacles at his waist, started forward, then changed his mind and stood still.

‘We saw your smoke. And you don’t know how many of you there are?’

‘No, sir.’

Expand upon Step 11

What might your protagonist feel here?Squirming a little, conscious of his filthy appearance, Ralph answered shyly.

What might your protagonist think here?Squirming a little, conscious of his filthy appearance, Ralph answered shyly.

What might your protagonist do here?Squirming a little, conscious of his filthy appearance, Ralph answered shyly.

What might your protagonist say here?

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‘Who’s boss here?’‘I am,’ said Ralph loudly.

Write your idea for Step 12: The Ending here

Ralph cries. (Pgs 234-235)

The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.

The officer, surrounded by these noises, was moved and a little embarrassed. He turned away to give them time to pull themselves together; and waited, allowing his eyes to rest on the trim cruiser in the distance.

Expand upon Step 12

What might your protagonist feel here?The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body.

What might your protagonist think here?Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.

What might your protagonist do here?The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island.

What might your protagonist say here?‘I should have thought,’ said the officer as he visualized the search before him, ‘I should have thought that a pack of British boys-you’re all British, aren’t you?-would have been able to put up a better show than that-I mean-‘

‘It was like that at first,’ said Ralph, ‘before things-‘

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He stopped.‘We were together then-‘The officer nodded helpfully.‘I know. Jolly good show. Like the Coral Island’ (234).

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